Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
All-Plinko 'The Price Is Right' Airs Friday
Plinko, The Price Is Right's beloved game of chance, will gets it own dedicated episode tomorrow in honor of its 30th anniversary. But can anyone win Plinko?
Unlike other games on the show, Plinko doesn't involve a photographic memory of the costs of grocery items. Fine, you win "Plinko chips" by pricing items, but after that, it's you against a big pegboard. NPR's Linda Holmes complained, "Plinko, if you have never seen it, is the completely inferior game in which people win money by basically sliding a plastic circle through a plastic pegboard which behaves in a functionally random way to award them money. You really might as well watch people pull the handle on a slot machine or draw straws. If Plinko were called Straw Drawer, you wouldn't think it was so great, would you?"
A statistician, the Skeptical Statistician, broke down the odds, ultimately finding, "For the biggest payoff in Plinko, use the center-most gate." As for why people might love Plinko, the Skeptical Statistician opines, "I suspect that The Price is Right is many children's first exposure to some fairly deep probability and statistics."
Here are some memorable big money wins:
Sponsored message
The all-Plinko episode airs on CBS tomorrow, Friday, September 27, 2013, 11:00 AM-12:00 Noon, ET; 10:00-11:00 AM, PT.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
